CHAPTER X.

"And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee."-JONAH iii. 1, 2.

IN studying the history of Jonah for our edification, we should not overlook the peculiar position in which he was placed as a prophet. He was the first, as far as we know, who was ever directly commissioned to go with a message from God beyond the bounds of the promised land—that is, Jonah was, in effect, the first missionary to the heathen; and when that is borne in mind, we have an explanation, though not an excuse, of his reluctance to proceed to Nineveh—of his flight, and all its strange results. It was new and untried work which the prophet had to do; and though that was no excuse when he had the command of God to guide him, we should not lose sight of the fact in considering the prophet's case.

But, however men may hesitate-however prophets may falter, in regard to the discharge of duty, God will do all his pleasure, and all his purposes shall stand. Man may rebel, but Jehovah will subdue him. Man may flee, but Jehovah will make the winds and the waves combine to arrest the fugitive. Man may think that he is promoting only his own designs, but it will be found at last that he has been promoting God's. An individual, a nation, a globe may revolt from the Supreme,

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and profess independence of him; but it will be seen that he has made the very wrath of man to praise him; he has exercised his grand prerogative of bringing good out of evil, though it should be at the cost of turning the way of the wicked upside down.

The beginning of our present passage supplies an instance- "The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." He had revolted before-will he revolt again? He had reversed Jehovah's plan, and substituted his own-will he repeat that impiety? He has been chastened in a wondrous way-has that chastening hardened Jonah, and made him worse, or has he learned wisdom from the rod? Is he now where the creature should ever be, exclaiming, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth"- "Here am I, send me?" Or will the language of his actions still be this, "Who is the Lord that I should obey him?" That was the point which was now to be settled, both for Jehovah's glory and for Jonah's good; and before considering how it was settled, contemplate the long-suffering of God as exemplified in Jonah's case. He had fallen he had fallen far and sadly; but he was not utterly cast off, nor given over to death, nay, an opportunity was afforded to regain his character, and return to his duty. Like Peter after his fall, when the Saviour thrice said, "Lovest thou me?"- "Feed my sheep, or feed my lambs," this prophet is again tested, that his heart's condition may be known. He is not all at once abandoned. He is not left, as he might have been, to the ruin for which he had wrought. He is visited in mercy again. "The word of the Lord came a second time to Jonah ;" and so it often is. Do you see some friend or brother on

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the road to ruin ?-some one whose heart has listened to godless enticements, and entered on the path which leads to death-following the flickering, lurid light of passion, instead of walking according to the mind of God? Then you may sometimes see how check after check is sent, how affliction after affliction comes, if that wanderer will peradventure return, or that prodigal, peradventure, be reclaimed, and guided back to his Father's home and heart. It is possible that he may refuse to be reclaimed. He may be so resolutely bent upon iniquity that after it he will go; and at last the wail-like words may be pronounced, "Why need ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more." But as it was with the erring Jonah, so may it be with him. Once, a second time, nay, again, and again, and again, warnings may come, that the wanderer may, at last, yield to conscience, to reason, and to God. Something may proceed from his hand, as certainly as the tempest which arrested Jonah, to arrest that sinner who has wandered from the way. Disease or threatened death may thus be like the voice of God exclaiming, "Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?"

And mark with care the tenor of the second message: it appears to be one of the most instructive portions in the book. Take it, therefore, clause by clause. And, first, "Arise, go to Nineveh." It is exactly the same command as before, without one qualifying word, one concession to the prophet's waywardness or fears, and far less one moment's connivance at his revolt. It is both the same place to which the prophet must go, and the same work which the prophet must do. The will of the unchanging God is to prevail over man's.

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The servant must be made willing in the day of the Master's power. The humbled messenger must be tested, and the question is virtually put, "Is Jonah now subdued, or is he stiff-necked and rebellious still? Has he seen enough of God's wonders in the deep, or must a lower deep be found than all the past? Has affliction done its work, or is still more required? Has the heart been made better by the sadness of the countenance? Has the wild ass's colt been tamed by bit and bridle? In a word, is Jonah now ready to obey, or is he still prepared to brave Omnipotence, and try to flee from the Omnipresent Spirit?" All that is implied in the second mandate, conveyed in words precisely similar to the first, "Arise, go unto Nineveh."

The

Or, more precise and pointed still, it is said, "Go unto Nineveh, that great city." The work is not made to appear less formidable than it seemed at first. whole extent of it is put again before the prophet: he must look at it in all its magnitude, however appalling it may seem, and then do what God commanded. Now, here a fine though not very obvious lesson rewards our careful study of this clause. For, the prophet needed faith-simple faith in God, and his supporting grace before he could undertake the work of reforming the greatest city which was then known upon the earth. That warfare could not be waged in his own strength; for if God's presence did not go with him, Jonah could not go with success. How, then, was his faith in God to be most effectually drawn out? Was it by representing his work as easy? or was it by truthfully pointing to its magnitude and perils? Was it by describing the prophet's commission as some petty thing? or

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was it by placing it before him in all its magnitude and with all its trials? Was it by describing his field of labour as easy and inviting? or would faith be in more lively exercise when the whole extent of the work was presented? We feel at once which was the wiser course; and that was the course which was adopted. The greatness of the city, and, by inference, the greatness of his work, were placed before the prophet; and he was thus taught either to despair and flee again, or to walk by faith, to depend simply upon God, and not to fear what man could do unto him. That was Jonah's simple lesson. He once refused to learn it, and we know what happened a living grave in the depths of the ocean became his dreary home; but he has learned that simple lesson now. He goes at Jehovah's bidding, and we shall see how he was upheld by Jehovah's power.

But farther, mark with care the specific tenor of the prophet's instructions: "Preach unto Nineveh the preaching that I bid thee." What he had to do was simply to comply with what was appointed by God over all. "Prophesy upon these bones, though they be very many and very dry; and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord," was the injunction given in vision to another prophet. He obeyed, and we know the result, all unlikely as it seemed to flesh and blood. Now, Jonah was just to do what Ezekiel did. He had tried his own way, and found that it led to death. He was now to take Jehovah's, and mark what would be the result. In short, simple obedience to God is here inculcated. Jonah was just the bearer of a message all he had to do was to deliver it. He was the